Athlete and sportswoman.
Born Mary Ruttan in St. James on 31 May 1912, daughter of Anna Berford and George Ruttan, she was educated locally. She was one of Manitoba’s top athletes of the 1930s and early 1940s. She was Manitoba champion in fencing in 1933 and 1936, and she won many national ski titles. She also was an active horsewoman on her horse Teddy. She helped found the Puffin Ski Club and pioneered the women’s/mothers’ exercise course at the YWCA. For 30 years she ran a dance school in Winnipeg, from which she retired in 1966. She moved to Victoria, British Columbia in 1972 and died at Saanichton on 30 April 1993. She was inducted posthumously to the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame (1996).
Death registration, British Columbia Vital Statistics.
Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 29 December 2021
Memorable Manitobans
This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.
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